[SINGAPORE] Customers of financial services platform Chocolate Finance have begun receiving their funds, four days after instant withdrawals were put on hold due to high demand.
The payouts come as the firm raised the spending cap on its Chocolate Visa debit card to S$1,000, after imposing a S$250 limit on Mar 11 to manage its “liquidity programme”.
It also told The Straits Times on Mar 14 that it hopes to increase the spending cap again soon, but did not provide a timeline for when the cap will be fully removed.
Resuming withdrawals is the latest step by Chocolate Finance to get the business back on an even keel.
It made the announcement on Mar 14: “Customers who requested to withdraw their money earlier this week have also started to receive their monies and customers continue to receive their withdrawals in accordance with the standard redemption process.”
Lim, a 28-year-old banking executive who wanted to be known only by his last name, said he requested to withdraw S$5,000 on Mar 10 and received the funds around 6pm on Mar 13, after a notification on Chocolate Finance’s mobile app that day.
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“I only deposited S$5,000 just to diversify my portfolio, so it isn’t much, but I’m just glad that I got my money back,” he added.
A 28-year-old communications executive who declined to be named said he requested to withdraw S$22,000 on Mar 10 but has yet to get the funds.
“I have only received e-mails stating that my funds are safe, and that I will be receiving it in three to six business days,” he added.
“As a comms professional, I feel that they have been quite terrible at communicating with their customers. I do not rule out using Chocolate Finance again, but if I do, it will be on a much smaller capacity due to how the situation is being handled.”
Chocolate Finance suspended instant withdrawals on Mar 10 because of high demand, adding that the pause was “not a liquidity issue, but a matter of managing our increased transaction volume”.
It announced on Mar 12 that customers who had submitted withdrawal requests could expect to receive their funds within three to six business days from the time of the request, in line with normal investment fund redemption cycles.
The firm declined to comment on the amount of withdrawals it has processed since Mar 10.
Junxu Lye, founder and chief executive of fintech start-up Acme Technology, said that he expects Chocolate Finance to emerge stronger.
“During times of crisis, action speaks louder than words, though both matter.
“Chocolate Finance is demonstrating that they are able to act quickly to allay customers’ concerns about not being able to get their monies back, as well as customer feedback about the spend limits.” THE STRAITS TIMES
